We would like to welcome Adam to our summer staff! Adam is coming from Ireland to work as a counselor this summer! He attends the Royal School Dungannon. He loves track and field and athletics. He is a long jumper and a qualified personal trainer.

He is excited to spend this summer in a different country (USA), meeting new people and making a difference in the lives of campers.

We would like to welcome Matt to our summer staff for his second year! He attends the University of Tennessee where he is involved with the Wesley Foundation. He loves hiking. Matt will be our male CIT counselor.

His message to our campers is: "Enthusiasm!!!! Woo! I am so excited for camp and getting to know and hang out with all of you. I hope to make your camp experience one of the most energetic and fun experiences you will have. Come enthusiastic and energized and we will have a blast at camp together!"

To our camper parents: "My favorite thing in the whole world is God. It's why I do the things I do. I am ready to share that love of Christ with your child. I want to be a positive influence that draws them closer to God and to help them really fall in love with this man who came to save us."

He said he is "excited just to be back at camp. When most people think about camp, they think about all the outdoorsy activities. When I think about camp, I think about the all consuming environment that allows everybody, camper and counselor alike, to have some of the most fun in their life in an atmosphere to worship a God who is so amazing. That is what excites me most about summer."

We would like to welcome Madeline to our summer staff! She attends the University of Tennessee where she is involved with the Wesley Foundation. She loves hiking to and watching sunrises and sunsets. She is from Maryville and is a Legacy staff member, meaning she is the second generation of staff in her family to work here. She worked for us in the past as a support staff and volunteer, and will now be joining us as the Support Staff Team Leader.

Her message to our campers is: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is my life motto."

To our camper parents: "Camp has been and continues to be a huge part of my life and I want to do everything possible to let your kids be able to say the same thing."

She said she is "looking forward to making new friends, working with a wonderful team, and seeing what all God has planned."

Camping Ministry, specifically as lived out through Camp Wesley Woods, has had a major and lasting impact on many of the youth of the Maryville District. Now, the youth will have an opportunity to “give back” to the camp that has meant so much to so many of us. On Saturday, April 30, Churches from the Maryville District are encouraged to bring their youth groups to Wesley Wood for an afternoon of work in connection with Holston Conference Youth’s “Mission Madness.”

We will gather at the parking lot below Tipton Lodge at 1:00 in the afternoon for instructions, then spend three hours working together to spread mulch, clean the camp, and help get it ready for Summer Camp. We will work for 3 hours, then all gather together at 4:00 for CCYM elections.

CCYM is the Conference Council on youth Ministries. We will elect two youth members and one or two alternates to represent our district on CCYM. CCYM holds meetings throughout the year and helps plan events such as Assembly, Discovery, and the Conference Youth in Mission trip each summer. Members of CCYM also serve on the Maryville District Leadership Team, and as at-large members to the Holston Annual Conference. It’s a big responsibility!

If there is a student in your church that you feel exhibits leadership and would serve well on CCYM, a nomination form can be downloaded at:

This form must be filled out by the student, guardians, and pastor or youth leader ahead of time, as it also grants permission for the student to serve. Each nominee will have the opportunity to give a 2-3 minute speech just prior to the election about why they would like to serve on CCYM. The signed nomination form is required in order for a student to be eligible for election.​We should finish between 4:30 and 5:00, then depart and head home with your youth groups.This should be a great opportunity to see other folks from the District while we share together in taking care of our camp, and doing the business of the church. If you have questions, you can reach Jim Gass by emailing jim@broadwayumc.net or you can call or text 865 207-9256. We hope to see you there!

We would like to welcome Allison to our summer staff! She will be attending ETSU in the Fall and loves playing soccer, hiking and singing. She is joining us from Morristown, and will be a counselor this summer.

Her message to our campers is: "I want to let them know that I might be shy at first, but I can be just as crazy and fun as they can be once I'm warmed up to them. Also, I love to sing, and I am a huge book/movie/TV show nerd. I want to have fun with them this summer and to help them to grow in their love and faith in God!"

To our camper parents: "I would like them to know that I want to have a great time with their kids, but I also want to be able to help them grow in their faith and to teach them something new this summer. Also, I promise I will do my best to keep their babies safe!"

She said she is "most excited about getting to come back to the camp that I loved as a kid and getting to experience it in a whole new way. I'm also excited about meeting new people and having a wonderful summer with them!"

We would like to welcome Caroline to our summer staff! She goes to Lipscomb U and loves playing soccer. She is a legacy staff member, which means she is a second generation staff member. She will be a counselor this summer.

​Caroline says: "I am most excited about my chance to meet new people and strengthen my relationship with God."

To camper parents, "I have lots of experience working with kids and that I want their kids to have an amazing week at camp filled with fun and learning about God."

To our campers, "I am extremely excited about the summer and that I am there for them, no matter what.

John Burris will soon put himself in an elite group of people. Only 6% of Boy Scouts earn the Eagle Scout Award, and thanks to his hard work and commitment, he will join those ranks. John sought out Camp Wesley Woods as a potential site to do his Eagle Scout project. We always have the need for projects, so we shared some of our needs and he chose to completely remove two old bridges and build two new bridges on our waterfall trail.

Those who have completed their Eagle Scout project know that it requires a lot of organizational skills, from paperwork to designing your project, gathering donations, assembling volunteers, and coordinating your team to implement the project. This on top of all the requirements you must meet before being qualified to attempt earning the Eagle Scout Award.

John accomplished all of these things, exceeded our already high expectations, and built for us some of the best looking bridges we have ever had. His design took the good things about the bridges we used to have and expounded on them, and he eliminated the weaknesses in our older designs to create a bridge that not only looks great, but will last a long time.

Each year, thousands of children and adults will walk across those bridges. We are thankful for John and the difference he made here in “The Woods.”

Special thanks to Anderson Lumber Company for the materials they donated to this project. Thanks also to The Home Depot for the discount they provided on materials. ​

I think camp impacts everyone who attends in various ways, but for me it was literally life changing. Besides the variety of skills and experience I picked up at camp and besides the amazing relationships I made, camp opened up the biggest door for me and that was the one to Jesus. Through the love I was shown from both campers and staff, I encountered God and He changed my life. From that moment all my plans were wrecked and my life was turned upside down, but in a good way. I went from not having a relationship with Jesus and not even really attending church, to being in full time ministry (currently youth pastor) four years later all because of the impact camp had on my life. Not only has it taken me into a new calling, but it has also given me the confidence and skills needed to run my own summer camp in South Africa. So from never ever being at a summer camp before to starting up and running my own summer camp 2 years later, that has being the impact camp has had on my life.

So if I have to answer the question, Why do I give? The simple answer would be that it's better to give than to receive. God provided me with the opportunity to attend Camp Wesley Woods and through that experience I received so much more than I could ever imagine. I've been blessed beyond my expectations and it's only right for me to give back and allow others to experience a bit of what I felt and have experienced through camp and the ability it has to change lives.

If I look back, I will definitely say camp was a defining or turning point in my life. I don't even want to imagine where I would have been if I had not attended camp. I know God used camp in a mighty way in my life and continued to do so over the 3 summers and falls I worked there. I will forever be grateful to God but also to Camp Wesley Woods for the major impact it played in my life. God used camp to change my life and I will always be ready and willing to give back in whichever way I can.